UPDATED: At first I thought it was a joke. Then I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, scream or call Margaret Atwood. But this morning I opened the paper to read that new iPhone apps allowing men to track the menstrual periods of their girlfriends or wives are flying off the virtual “shelves.”

Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) are now available in many countries, but have failed to have the desired impact on unwanted pregnancy rates. Why is this? Earlier barriers to access are becoming less and less prevalent. A market for ECPs has been demonstrated and numerous manufacturers and distributors are keen to supply ECPs products; in many countries they are starting to be mainstreamed into norms, pre-service training, and services.

With spring here and Easter in the rearview mirror, you can’t help but think a bit about eggs of all types, among them human eggs. Amidst research on marketing of human eggs, I found this Latin proverb, “All life comes from an egg.” I find this sentiment a bit dated. Instead I’d like to suggest something a bit more up-to-date, “All life comes from an egg, but that egg comes at a price.”

The Canadian government is excluding family planning from its initiative to save the lives and improve the health of mothers in poor countries. One small problem: You can’t address maternal mortality without family planning.

So,
in addition to worrying about an unplanned pregnancy and whether I’ll
be able to get an abortion, now I have to worry about under
planning pregnancy? Female fertility has become a
schizophrenic mine field.

Childless women of all ages are under assault. If you’re a teenager, you’re pushed toward motherhood by “moralizers.” If you’re a woman 35 or older, you’re subject to ominous news stories about fertility anxiety.